Lubbock High FBLA students run business, gain real-world experience and skills

Piece of Paradise

Published: Sunday, November 18, 2007

HUMBERTO MARTINEZAVALANCHE-JOURNAL

The scene seems bleak for a business - a small building alongside a low-traffic single-lane road and across from a field of cotton. A building stands out though - a flat, cement front painted a bright blue, where a mural transforms a simple double-door into a pillared entrance. Above it reads "A Piece of Paradise."

Inside, Courtney Key and Ashley Chatman, both 18, smile excitedly and greet customers coming into the store, where a variety of items are sold, ranging from home decorations to Barbie dolls and wall clocks.

Key and Chatman are two of nearly 50 students from the Lubbock High School Future Business Leaders of America operating the business, once set to close, providing real-life experience and insight for their college and career decisions. Key said she has learned that making sales is harder than she originally thought.

"It's hard work," she said. "You think, 'It's do this, this and this and you get sales.' It's a lot more than that. There's inventory, stocking and marketing, too."

The initiative came out of Rosa Llanas, a business and techology instructor at Lubbock High School and adviser for the FBLA, who spoke with the business owners when they were going to shut it down. Llanas said that the students worked for several weeks renovating the location, putting it in order, and then running it during store hours.

Llanas said the teens are using the store not only to learn, but to raise money for their end-of-year event, in which they travel to a national convention. The hardest problem the store has faced is attracting customers, she said, because of its location on the far side of town near 82nd Street and Interstate 27. But Llanas said that when customers do come, they buy significantly.

She said the store is a great opportunity for her students, who have gathered as a team to share in the learning experience, and each contributes unique skills to the project.

Aaron Lopez, 15, said he has been working as a disc jockey at small events such as quinceaeras for a couple of years. For Piece of Paradise's grand opening, he provided and set up the sound system

Aaron's mom, Laura Lopez, said that since her son started working on FBLA, he has started to open up. She said he used to be more shy, and now that he is exposed to more people, he is gaining communication skills.

"It's a good opportunity for students," Lopez said. "They're not just talking to other students, but professionals. It gets them used to the real world."

Dawson Land, 15, is another student who has used his interests to help out the project.

"It's amazing because this is the kind of experience anyone would want," Land said. "It's not just reading a textbook or being lectured in a classroom. It's hands-on experience."

Land mentioned the marketing campaign for the store, which includes two billboards, a radio ad, flyers and other print advertisements.

"It's not just about the products you have or the actual store," Land said. "You have to get people through the door to see what you have."

Llanas said the mural on the front of the building is the work of another student. She said that each of the students brings something to the store, and each takes something away.

"What this does, too, is it introduces them to a lot of important people," Llanas said. "They've done a lot of hard work here. They're very savvy employees. They're ahead of the game; employers are going to look at them and see that they may have even more skills than prospective employees walking through the door right now."